Decanter at St. Regis

Went there for breakfast. Eggs were overdone. Potatoes super dry. Toast was not fresh. Four $ 25 that’s ridiculous. A diner has much better food for a quarter of the price.
Coffee is good and service is good.

Our family had an enjoyable Thanksgiving here. Great wine pairings and very good service. Some of the dishes were a little more miss than hit, but on balance, I’d recommend. We hung out at the bar before dinner and while the drinks are definitely $$$, it has a nice ambiance if you are looking for a quiet bar to catch up. The autumn bellini is especially good.

Lovely bar in the beautiful St. Regis hotel! We stopped in for a glass of champagne (me) and a glass of wine (hubby) before heading out to a wonderful dinner. The décor is elegant and beautiful and the service is polished and professional. We also enjoyed breakfast in the restaurant on Sunday morning and loved it… again, a beautifully decorated space, professional service and high quality food.

The new York was truly excellent. The salad had wonderful heirloom tomatoes and service was quite nice as well. One to dine at for certain

Despite the beautiful décor and the association with the well-​appointed St. Regis on 16^th Street in DC, the service and food at Decanter left a lot to be expected. From waiting 5 minutes to be seated at our table, to an unimaginative menu, the overall experience was poor. The wait continued at the table as a bottle (mainstream) of champagne was being chilled. Did the food change the experience? No, it worsened it. Out came ingredients that must have been sourced at a local Giant, including a grisly lamb shank that was mostly unappetizing fat and couscous from a box. Having survived that portion of the meal, skipping dessert, another long wait to find the same unmanned entrance and another search for restaurant staff to retrieve our coats. In all, a poor overpriced experience in a sumptuous venue.

Decanter is Such a classy looking place at the St. Regis hotel. It used to be called Adour. A restaurant that I disliked so very much… Due to the limited menu, service and the pricing. Was really expensive for what you get.
Now, it’s decanter. They really haven’t changed much but the name and of course the menu from French to Mediterranean. Same chef.
I was excited for the change and I was looking forward to give it a try… And what a disappointment: S
Let’s start with the service. From beginning to end it was a great service.
Décor, of course as elegant as Adour used to be nothing has changed.
The ambiance was DEAD. The place was empty on Friday night. Only two tables. Sad to see such a nice restaurant with no business!!!
The prices were reasonable. Not as expensive as Adour. But for the food quality you get I still think it’s too much.
The menu very limited, not too many options. Exactly like Adour’s menu. Which was my main issue back then and so today with decanter
The food was bland and flavorless.
I really expected to see better change than just the name.
Giving two stars for the great service and Décor

It’s usually hard to rate a fine dining experience — the stronger your opinion on about how things «should» be, the less likely a restaurant will fulfill your expectations. I can see how people are disappointed with Decanter based on reading their reviews. However I thought Decanter was easy to rate highly. No it’s not a hugely popular place. The ambiance is intimate while also being ‘public’, the servers are all over your table and not in any rush to move you along (thanks to the dining room never being full), the wine pairings are perfect, and of course the food is cooked exactly right with great flavors that don’t detract from the show. I will definitely return.

My boyfriend took me here for my birthday in December. It was an amazing dinner. We chose to do the 5 course tasting menu which started out with the corn veloute. They brought out the bowls with spiced chicken pieces in it and then they poured the soup in front of us. It was so rich and decadent. Our next courses included the salmon, olive oil poached flounder and the lamb shoulder. We finished it off with the frozen lemon soufflé, which was the BEST part.
The service was impeccable. I had ordered a sparkling wine at the beginning of dinner but the waiter returned after I ordered it saying that he didn’t think it was chilled enough so he was going to upgrade me to champagne instead. I would definitely come back again. It was quiet and romantic – perfect for a date!

Pleasant quiet atmosphere. The service was good albeit some stains on the waiters vest. The menu was limited but some interesting options were present. The flatbread with tomato ricotta and beef was tasty and interesting. Eggs Benedict were good but the crab cakes didn’t have the lumps that were promised.

enjoyed an amazing 5-​course tasting menu at Decanter on Friday night. I was staying at the St. Regis and was totally impressed by this restaurant. The tasting menu was hearty and warm, perfect for a cold fall night. It included a corn soup, salmon, snapper, lamb, and finally two desserts. Everything was delicious, but the lemon tart was outstanding. will definitely dine here again if I am in DC.

As I walked inside the restaurant looking like a person out of place I was greeted with smiles and courteous greetings. The evening is to celebrate family wedding announcement. The service was top notch and the chef was on fire including the bartender. I will definitely comeback

I have been to Decanter at St. Regis a few times since they replaced that awful restaurant that was here before. This option for drinks much better and a lot more luxe.
The interior of Decanter is very intimate and romantic, but it’s also fine for some drinks with friends. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I preferred to sit out near the lobby because it is much quieter. Though technically your not in the bar area, there’s a lot less hustle and bustle and the conversations are more private, I’ve found.
The prices are basically what you would expect for a St. Regis, mainly, high. But at the same time, the drinks are of a very high standard. They also give you plenty of bar snacks to nibble on while you’re there.
Overall, I enjoyed my times at Decanter at St. Regis. The service is always professional, and it’s located near many office buildings, so bringing work people here would not be a problem.

I just assumed that the restaurant of a swanky hotel a couple blocks from the White House would be jammed with DC power brokers on a weeknight at 6:30, but it was virtually empty, which lent a nice air of calm to the meal, too rare in this town. The décor was ultra-​modern, which I happen to like but it did seem incongruous in a hotel that screams «I have old money and routinely drop my monocle into my highball while gasping in shock at things.» Hard to complain about the service in an empty restaurant since they waited on us hand and foot like an episode of Downton Abbey.
The meal itself was good if not outstanding. Appetizers were flatbread (don’t call it square pizza) and some cheeses, nice but comparable to dishes I’ve had elsewhere, although the plentiful warm crusty bread to go with the cheese was a very nice touch. My entrée was veal porterhouse au jus, and it was definitely quite tasty, but you’d have to try hard to get me to dislike a veal dish. I tasted a couple bites of my companions’ yellowfin tuna and merguez sausage and both were very good as well. Dessert was a little boring, nothing really appealed so we stuck with the homemade ice cream, might have been Ben & Jerry’s for all I know. Ironically, the thing that made me happiest about the entire meal was having a Rochefort 10 Trappist beer, which you don’t often find outside Belgian restaurants.
I was lucky enough not to get stuck with the bill, but I happened to see the amount, and while it wasn’t outrageous, I’ve had meals that cost the same per person where both the food and ambiance were more memorable. All in all it was a very pleasant dining experience, but somewhat unremarkable, didn’t really move the needle. I measure fancy restaurants on a scale of «would I beg my parents to take me there when they visit DC» and this one would not earn that gold star.

Big whiskey stones! Didn’t have any food here so couldn’t comment on that. Bar is very well stocked and has plenty of high-​end liquor. Great place to stop and have a drink…

Fancy place, fancy food, fancy price tag. I had a great Valentine’s dinner here, but that was more a function of my company than the food we ate. My boo was lookin’ cute in his suit n tie! The service was flawless, however — the dishes and wine pairings were served with almost no gap, and every item was explained to a tee.
We started out with a ravioli, it was a bit oily without enough flavor for my taste. Then came the crab bisque, which they poured over a butter blob, croutons, and other yummy bits. The bisque was very fragrant, but needed a little more seasoning. The other option was the beet salad with smoked salmon and caviar, which was excellent. There were two different colors of beets and the salmon and caviar provided a nice salty contrast to the beets. Only comment is that the portion seemed large for both the soup and salad (of course I’m not complaining, I suppose!).
For the main course there was lobster and beef tenderloin. Both were pretty good, perfectly cooked. But nothing else to bring home in terms of comments. Next came a cheese course, truffle brie with red pepper sauce. Nice intermission before dessert.
For dessert the dark chocolate item was well executed, but the passion fruit — lime sorbet paired with meringue was a home run. Perfectly tangy and sweet, with different crunchy textures from the meringue.
Overall the meal was enjoyable with some really nice wine pairings and excellent service — I asked for a list to take home! However I’m not giving them more stars just because the price tag was a bit steep and the food just didn’t reach that level of memorable. I wish I could, but it was still a great Valentine’s and a viable option for a nice night out. The ambiance is nice and doesn’t get too noisy, with perfect lighting not too light not too dark. As we left and got our coats I got a rose to take home! They really do take care of you.

In a word, disappointing.
I’d driven by this establishment many times and thought it looked classy and modern. And the interior does not disappoint, nor does the friendly, attentive service (each earning one of the two stars I am giving the restaurant.)
The food, however, was bland, uninventive, and a poor value.
I did the tasting menu ($ 75). The first dish was a flat hamachi niçoise. The second course was the highlight of the meal because of the scallops that rested on a bland sauce of chickpeas.
The next course was a flavorless braised beef short rib. They claim it was braised with orange, lemons, etc., but I couldn’t tell. It was accompanied by a overly acidic (but adventurous) tomato jam and a cardboard triangle of polenta.
The dessert a forgettable black forest cheesecake.
The tasting menu is supposed to be the best the restaurant has to offer, so I know I’m making no mistake by not returning.

The up fronts:
Food: great, loved it.
Establishment: nice, knows it’s stuff.
Wait staff: professional, courteous, for real, non-​pretentious.
Price: up there, not the most expensive, but this ain’t Joe’s Steak & Garlic Bread.
Recommendation: Ask for a wine pairing.
Verdict: Come, Come often, Stay long if you can.
The rest:
Happy Thanksgiving!
Well, yeah it’s been a month since I was here with a friend on Thanksgiving Day. But hey, December was busy for moi. Ever since deciding that my no-​longer-​quite-​so-​young-​and-​pliant behind is not made for 650 miles o/​w drives back home for a 3-​day Thanksgiving break, a friend and I have been slowly plying our way around DC’s better meal tides for a pleasant, relaxing, and culinarily nice Thanksgiving dinner. So for 2013 we ended up here.
Now, it wasn’t that long ago that the restaurant habiting this space in the St. Regis was run by a different bunch under a different name. So to my list of growing ailments you can add memory loss, and blame it for me making reservations at a location we’d already been once before. But, that time a couple years ago my friend did not receive the best service once she had her steak sent back for not being the way she ordered it. After that… no love for her. Which meant no love for that previous establishment. We can’t make that assertion about the Decanter.
Call me old (heck I’m only 51), but these days one of the penultimate needs of mine while dining out is QUIET. Not «cute» (sigh) junior or juniette from our neighbor’s table yelling, screaming, flutzing, putzing, you-​name-​it-​annoy-​the-​guy-​at-​the-​table-​next-​to-​us, or some other fill-​in-​the-​blank on-​going difficulty to deal with. Not listening to someone’s loud cell phone playing some poor equivalent of a jukebox jam blaring from Facebook, Youtube, fill-​in-​the-​blank electronic medium. No. And from the first few seconds of firmly ensconcing ourselves in the comfy chairs in front of that nice, cozy fireplace in the bar for a nice drink beforehand, we got happily lost in this place for a very nice Thanksgiving meal.
I love Anthony Bourdain, but I’m not really into trying to describe every nuance of every morsel of food I consume these days. I’ll leave that for everyone else with more erudite brains than I. But I will tell you that if I was forced to eat here once a day until I died, I don’t think I’ll die complaining one little bit. Where’s the carryout? My friend always goes for the steak option on Thanksgiving, and I always go for the turkey and usuals. She was in love with her plate after she consumed it. I was also in love with mine. Kudos to the chef.
For Thanksgiving there were also two special wine flights you could pair with your delicious meal, should you decide to splurge and drop the dime to enjoy them. My friend & I dropped both our dimes (perhaps it was more like bags of silver reals), and we went with the top line pairing. Usually I’m sorely disappointed with these things; I mean, I openly admit I drink wine like a child drinks soft drinks — hey Mom, look, I mixed sour grape with orange sherbert and key lime parfait with chocolate mouse… mm mm good. But on this day, I was ecstatic. IMHO we enjoyed the most perfect pairing of wine and food on planet earth. Frenchies, eat your hearts out. I ain’t kidding. I may drink like a child, but I didn’t say I don’t know a thing or two about wine. And this pairing was just dag blame bloody merrilicious goodness. If our food portions hadn’t been so duly large to prohibit the thought, I’d have ordered it all over again and gotten lost in all that liquid & foodstuff goodness a 2^nd time.
As it was we sat there dissecting all of the world’s political problems over more than two hours, enjoying our food, enjoying our drink, enjoying the environment, happy to be APPROPRIATELY (read that not over zealous, not gurgling bubbly, not I’m-your-best-friend-let-me-ask-you-personal-questions-like-I-live-with-you-or-something, not doting but just the right mix of attention) waited on, enjoying the now not-​as-​quiet-​but-​still-​verbally-​subdued ambiance of our dining experience. I was sad to say goodbye to my seat when we could no longer come up with a plausible excuse to stay another hour or so.
Will the Decanter feel bad that I won’t be back on Thanksgiving since we’ve now been there once, and for us it’s once and done for Thanksgiving? I hope not. I love the place. So now we’ll be looking for any and every other occasion to make an entry here. We’ve been to a number of places around town at this point, but we haven’t said that about very many of them.
Happy happy joy joy.

Loved everything about Decanter, except the chairs — they are not very comfortable.
Very romantic, and the food is great. Bill and I both had the halibut — it was a nice three ounce portion cooked perfectly, and server over chickpeas prepared two ways. We also had the black forest marscapone cheesecake, which was quite delicious, minus the cherries that tasted like cough syrup. Their dessert portions are mini, so if you’re trying to stay healthy, you can just have a bite or two!
I’ve noticed that every restaurant I’ve been to in D.C. has awesome bread service. Decanter does not disappoint!
There is also some great people watching here.

I wish we could give .5 stars, because this is a solid 3.5. Some good things — others disappointing. Based on service and ambiance I would give a 4, but food I would give a 3 (and the food is what really matters).
We ate there last night and got a table on the night of.
The waiter suggested we get the Garlic Burrata & Goat Cheese for appetizer and this was amazing. This was the best thing we got. We also asked to try the fig chutney with it and that was very good also. The combo of the goat cheese & fig chutney/​red pepper was great.
Our entrees were fine, but nothing special. My wife had the catch of the day (rockfish) and I had the braised short rib. We didn’t have any complaints but we were not wow’d by anyway. If we were to go back, we would try something different.
For dessert my wife got the poached fig napoleon and it was just bad. It was flavorless and dry. The pears were good, but the rest was awful.
I did enjoy my black forest mascarpone cheesecake. They gave us 2 small cupcakes and the vanilla one had a lemon crème that was great (we wished we could have ordered those for desssert).
Again, the meal was fine, but not as good as other places at the same price. We would go there again and try out different items to see if we could hit something we really liked.

I am so disappointed to be writing this review. For my birthday, my husband made a reservation at Decanter, as well as a reservation to stay the night at the St. Regis. I was really looking forward to a delicious, leisurely meal since I knew that Ardour had been so well reviewed in the past. We are native DC residents, and have dined at almost all the best restaurants in the city, so we definitely know the good from the bad.
A few days prior to our reservation, my husband got a phone call that Decanter was currently under construction, so we’d be eating in one of the ballrooms. I was disappointed but thought — ‘hey, maybe they can make it really intimate and lovely’. So that’s how we started our meal — we walked into one of the ballrooms at the St. Regis, and saw about 10 – 12 round tables set up, exactly like there was a wedding taking place, and we were seated at this teeny tiny table in the corner. We are not big people, and the table was so tiny our knees were hitting one another.
I tried to stay optimistic, though, and we ordered the Mediterranean sampler platter for our appetizer, along with a bottle of sparkling Spanish wine. First — the wine — we waited about 25 minutes between ordering the wine and having our waitress come over and explain that the wine is not kept cold because their cellar is so large, so they had to put it in the fridge to chill for a while before serving us. This was so frustrating to me. When our appetizer came out, it was made up of 3 items, a hummus, some anchovies, and a baba ganoush. The hummus was so gross it was almost inedible. Chalky, chunky, and tasteless. The anchovies were not great, and the third dip was utterly forgettable.
They were really pushing their lamb flatbread as their in-​house specialty, so I ordered that as my entrée. My husband got their halibut. When my flatbread arrived, I was stunned. It was a rolled out puff pastry sprinkled with what looked like maybe half a handful of shredded lamb. Garnishing the top were some random arugula leaves. I tried some, and between the tastelessness of the lamb and the strange placement of melted Humboldt fog cheese, i was totally grossed out. My husband’s halibut was also totally flavorless and bland. I actually sent my flatbread back, which I never, ever done in my life.
Overall, I was so sad to spend my birthday dinner there. I know I would’ve had a better and more tasty meal at Old Ebbit Grill, which is so disappointing.